Faced by an intensifying competition, popular messaging app Telegram recently announced that it has now added several features to the app in what it called as "entertainment-heavy update."
The most notable change to the latest Telegram update involves the capability to add selfie masks. This would be suspiciously familiar to Snapchat users, who have been enjoying the platform's animated selfie lenses for some time now.
Unlike Snapchat's lenses, however, a selfie mask is a little more crude as it functions like an overlay. Snapchat's lenses, on the other hand, are capable of completely transforming one's facial features. Moreover, Telegram's masks are only available on existing photos and cannot be applied to videos.
The process is also a little more complicated as the masks are implemented through Telegram's photo editor. Aside from the masks, users will also be able to add drawings, stickers and texts into a picture before sending it as a message. Users should not worry, however, as the editor automatically positions those elements into the image.
In the recent update, the team behind Telegram said that it ultimately wants to democratize the messaging app. This is demonstrated, for instance, in the way the app has been opened to developers.
"Anyone can use the /newmasks command for the @stickers bot to upload their own masks," the team said in an official statement.
Additionally, the new Telegram will also allow users to make their own GIFs. The process has been made easy — users need only record videos on Telegram that can then be shared as a looped autoplayed GIF. This can be done simply by clicking the Mute button, which prompts the app to trigger loop and autoplay mechanisms to create the GIF. Users can also add other visual elements such as emojis, scribbles and texts.
The stickers have also been updated. There is now a dedicated Trending section that allows users to find popular stickers, which should be a boon to those frustrated with the amount of time required to find the perfect image in an immense database.
While Telegram still lags behind Snapchat in terms of user base, it boasts 100 million monthly active users who are sending at least 15 billion messages daily. Those figures have been reported early this year and are bound to increase further as Telegram claims that it is adding 350,000 new users monthly. The latest update is seen as a move to maintain, if not exceed, this performance.
Telegram's last big update was released early this year to beef up its messaging platform. It introduced a Bot API, which allowed features like inline keyboards, group administration tools and support systems for 19 more file types, among others.
